Figuring FiOS — Will it really cost Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ - message board) more than $9,000 to bring fiber to your home? — Yes, it could. And bear with me, please: I'm about to attempt some FiOS math. — The company today said it plans to pass 18 million premises with its fiber network by the end of 2010.

Verizon Opens the FiOS Kimono — Historically, Verizon (VZ) has held it's FiOS FTTH subscriber numbers close to the vest, and has not provided detailed information about penetration rates or success metrics. Today, they opened the kimono. — Here are the highlights: — 375k broadband subscribers today.

Debunking the MySpace Myth of 100 Million Users — The hype around the 'web 2.0' buzzword continues to grow and grow. From bulls**t statements like 85% of college students use Facebook (umm no, that was when less than half of US colleges were supported, yet everyone continues to cite that magical number) …

Dressing Smartphones for Success — As if you didn't already lavish enough attention on your Treo or BlackBerry, it's now easier than ever to spoil it rotten. You can slip it into a stylish case, scratch-proof its screen and connect all manner of strange and wonderful devices to make your smartphone even smarter.

Apple go to war over 'pod' — Apple is waging war against companies that use the word "pod" in product and company names, arguing customers will be confused by what brand they are buying. — The action has been fuelled by Podcast Ready, a 13-employee company, which has developed software …

Super Bowl Glory for Amateurs With Video Cameras — Five amateur Super Bowl ads in a contest will be posted on Yahoo. A vote will help determine which one should be shown during the game. — By LOUISE STORY — IT was only a matter of time before a homemade commercial appeared during the Super Bowl.

Suzuki Unveils Prototype Fuel Cell Electric Wheelchair — Suzuki Motor Corp. has developed "MIO," an electric wheelchair with a fuel cell unit. It has been designed based on Suzuki's previous electric wheelchair "Senior Car" operable with a handlebar. It is a motor-driven wheelchair …

iTunes 7.0.1 Has Buttloads of Mobile Phone Mentions — Normally, an iTunes update wouldn't be much news. But this one has lots of mentions of a "mobile phone" that can play video and display pictures. As far as we know, the ROKR and RAZR V3i can't do that. — Here's a taste of the strings:

VideoEgg Gets a Jolt of VC — With $12 million from the Starbucks chairman's venture capital firm and other investors, the startup capitalizes on the rise of Web video — Seeing riches in the Web's sudden emergence as a mainstream vehicle for video, a venture capital firm co-founded …

Second HP employee issued probe warning — A second Hewlett-Packard employee warned others at the company that the tactics being used in its leak probe might be illegal, CNET News.com has learned. — In a Feb. 7 e-mail, HP security official Vincent Nye told the company's head of security …

A look at eight multi-person SMS services — The DEMO conference is wrapping up here in San Diego and unlike when it began 16 years ago the conference wasn't dominated by mobile launches. None the less, there were some very interesting mobile services here like ScanR and Realeyes3D image scanning …